The Heart and The Huntsman
by goonimpressagirl
Summary: Elle joined Alexandria in the fight against the undead, that was until she was taken by Negan and The Saviors. Follow her as she ventures into the unknown of new relationships and adventure in a effort to survive. Negan/OC adventure and romance.
1. Alexandria

_(Hi readers, just a quick note, I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the character, except my OC Elle. This is my first Walking Dead FF, any feedback is welcome. Will try to post weekly. Thanks for reading! Rated M for strong language and later chapters.)_

Ever since the virus started spreading there was never much hope, maybe there was in the beginning but after all the military bases were taken over and the CDC destroyed it had dwindled out to nothing but ash – just like many of the fires they built to burn away the dead.

As time progressed it became more about keeping yourself and your people alive rather than finding a cure. There was no end in sight, that much was crystal clear. The whole world seemed darker outside of the compounds, as if it was always overcast and grey, the streets of the cities and towns smelled like death, the smell of rotten flesh seemed to just blend into the air now – in the beginning there'd always be people covering their mouths and noses with whatever rag they could find in order to keep the smell out, but now… now it was just part of the shit they had to deal with on a daily basis.

She'd been a part of Alexandria for what felt like forever, the people were nice, there was order and even a sense of community – something she and a lot of people yearned for. It was like the real world again, living in real houses and sleeping in real beds, there was even a shop they used to ration out food and supplies. It was an escape, from death and the undead alike.

There were people that worked during the day: planting vegetables, gardening, teaching the children and fishing in the lake at the edge of the compound. There were people walking the streets and kids playing in gardens, if you took down the 20ft steel wall around Alexandria what you'd have left is normality, but the wall, the watchmen, the guns, it was all needed – for their own safety.

She was sitting on a rock by the lake in total silence, listening to the wind rustling the nearby trees, and the fish making ripples on the surface of the water. This was one of her favourite things to do, to come back from a long day scavenging or looking for other groups of survivors to just sitting and staring out into the emptiness, not a walker in sight, just… tranquillity. It was like it was before, before the world went to hell.

"Elle, you're up!" A voice called from a few metres away, guard duty – that's where she was going next. They always worked in shifts, always with at least one person at each outpost 24/7, they needed to see all areas that were open to walkers and intruders. The strongest rifle shooters guarded the road overlooking the main gate, they had far sight scopes to see anything approaching, it would give them enough time to prepare for what was coming.

She was a strong fighter, had been from the start, she could handle a gun, which is why Rick chose her to stand guard alongside Carl and some of the others, some of who had been with them since Atlanta.

They'd had some interactions with the group that called themselves The Saviours, it hadn't been long since their most horrific encounter. It was when they'd lost Glenn and Abraham to the wrath that is Lucille and her barbed wire wrapping – the flashbacks of that night happened every now and again, it took a day or two before some of them were able to leave the walls of Alexandria, and the safety of numbers. In a way that's probably what the Saviours wanted, fear and dread among the remaining survivors.

Since that night, they came by once a week with big trucks and a few cars to take supply's, weapons and ammo, with the promise that not resisting would spare another one of their own from Lucille. Then just like clockwork, in the distance there was the rattling sound of a empty truck approaching, in front of it, a car leading the way down the road and toward the gate.


	2. Taken

_(Thanks for the favourites and follows so far, it means a lot! Any reviews are welcome. Please note, I do no own any of the storylines or characters from TWD except my OC Elle.)_

"They're here!" Elle shouted down towards Rick who waited by the gate, pacing back and forth, at the same time every couple of days.

"How far away?" Rick shouted back,

"About a two miles!"

Rick walked off, he headed towards Sasha and a few of the others,

"Is it done?" He asked

Sasha gave a small nod, this much Elle could see, this meant their plan was in motion. They'd found a discreet underground storage unit that the Saviours never seemed to see find on their scavenges, it was hidden in the backyard of one of the houses, it looked like it had been a doomsday bunker for someone who hadn't been so lucky. They'd put a lot of their supply's down there, and a variety of guns and the spare ammo they had – enough to get them by until they could find more. Some of the people had already gathered the things to give away – well more like surrender, some canned food, toiletries, medical supplies and a minimum amount of guns and ammo. It was all piled up next to the old school bus by the entrance, with the hope that The Saviours wouldn't go rummaging through the houses.

Elle climbed down with her rifle in tow, ready draw at any point, she stood tall a few feet behind Rick. Then a few of the watchmen unlocked the gate and walked it open and the vehicles drove through leaving a cloud of dust behind them. As soon as the engines cut off the men and women hopped out guns at the ready.

They were soon joined by their leader, a tall alpha male wearing a leather jacket, black jeans and biker boots, he had dark hair that he'd slicked back and a beard the colour of salt and pepper. As soon as he stepped out of the car he swung his baseball bat over his shoulder. Lucille.

"Well well well, how the fuck are ya Rick?"

Rick nodded, there was always the same small amount of fear in his eyes when The Saviours came around.

"What? Are you ignoring me? I thought we had something special here Rick." His sarcastic voice almost echoed off the silence, "Well fuck me." Still the silence hung, "Shit man!" Negan walked around in a small circle, holding Lucille still over his shoulder, then he noticed the pile of supplies standing there. "Well I'll be damned, look what we have here."

"It's everything you asked for..."Rick took a step forward.

"Damn, this is what I'm talking about! If you play along, no one has to die, do you get that now?" He took some heavy steps towards the supplies. He placed Lucille against the stack and picked up a gun, he inspected it making a light whistle as he did before he aimed it toward Elle, "Fuck, this is a fine piece of weaponry, Rick, where'd you come across something so beautiful?"

Elle stood still, she didn't move a muscle, then she locked eyes with Negan as a looked straight down the scope. After a moment of silence he lowered the gun with a smirk on his face.

"All right boy, lets haul ass out of this dump." As the Saviour turned around Elle finally let out a deep exhale. That could have been the end for her, after everything she'd been through from the moment she had to leave her hometown to now could have all been for nothing.

It didn't take long for The Saviours to pack up their supplies and head out of the gates of Alexandria. That was it for a few days…

"We need to act soon, this can't carry on" Elle was the first ones to speak once the gates closed, "Rick? After everything this group has been through we can't keep bowing to those savages!"

"I know, I know, but right now we don't have a choice, you saw what they did – to Glenn and Abraham." He replied,

"Elle's right. That bastard is going to get what he deserves and we should be the ones to bring that to him." Carl walked over and stood in between his dad and Elle. He'd grown up right in the middle of everything, he'd lost his mom – he was the one to put her down. He'd lost his eye and he wasn't about to let the Saviours take more from him… or his family.

Rick had his hands on his hips and he was looking around at what they'd built – a community. It was everything they'd longed for, he'd always hoped for a place to call home, ever since he found Lorrie and Carl in Atlanta, they'd come so close when they found Hershel and Maggie on the farm. Now, after jumping from place to place they had it, while he didn't have Lorrie anymore, but he still had Carl and his daughter Judith. "Okay… let's go." Rick lead the way towards their makeshift town hall, they had some planning to do.

They all stood around the table each person with a gun at there side, and the look of revenge on their face.

Rick began, "Before we start anything, we can't go there with the ammo we have, we've got the guns, but we need more ammo."

"Elle and I can go on a run today, it wont take long, we'll be in and out in a couple of hours." Sasha offered, as she looked at Elle, she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, try and find some more medical supplies while you're there."

"Sure thing, we'll head out now. There's no time to waste." Elle signalled for Sasha and they both left the room, taking their guns with them.

"Ladies? Grab a car and take what you need and be careful out there. We're not just fighting the dead now, this could be war." They both nodded and within 5 minutes they were outside of the walls and on their way.

The drive was fairly quiet, there weren't many walkers on the roads, they did pass a lot of abandoned cars with their trunks open, abandoned luggage was thrown all over the grass and the road. Within the hour they'd reached a small town, it wasn't much, but it should have what they need – hopefully.

They parked up and took their bags out of the trunk, ready for the haul. They walked up to the pharmacy, it looked promising, it had been looted, but not stripped to the bones like most of the places they'd found in the past. They went inside, knives at the ready, just in case. Once they'd cleared the place and made sure they were alone, they opened their bags and started stocking up. Elle was looking along the shelves They're bound to run out of supply's soon, what happens then… when the world runs out? She found bandages, painkillers, antibiotics and even some diapers for Judith. Once they were happy with what they'd got they left the shop and headed for 'Guns n Ammo' – fingers crossed she thought to herself.

It was then that they heard a car approaching. "Get down!" Elle shouted, and they both crouched down behind different abandoned cars, Shit, shit, shit! The car didn't pass through, it stopped and two people jumped out closing the doors behind them. Elle listened closely, she head two men talking, she didn't recognise their voices. Luckily they didn't seem to notice they were there. She edged around the car, trying to get a look at their faces and the weapons they were carrying without being seen. She looked over but there was no one in sight, it was then that she turned around and saw a man towering over her, before she could scream out he hit her with the side of his gun, and just like that… everything went black.


	3. The Saviour

Elle kept drifting in and out off consciousness she could hear male voices talking and she could feel herself rocking back and forth, she knew she was on the move. She tried moving her arms, but she couldn't, they were secured behind her back – tight enough so that she couldn't slide out, her legs were tied together as well.

She'd been captured. It was dark so she held her breath and listened closely but couldn't hear anyone else, that means they didn't get Sasha.

She could tell the others and they'd come for me, she thought to herself.

"Get her out of the back, take her down. Boss will be there soon." An unfamiliar voice echoed through her ears. She ran through in her head all of the possible ways should could escape but she knew that if she tried, she'd be gunned down before she got a chance to get anywhere.

Within a few minutes the door of the truck was opened and she heard someone mount the truck, getting closer to her.

"C'mon, on ya feet" Another unfamiliar male voice echoed around the empty truck as he bent down and cut her legs free before dragging her out.

"Yo! Grab her!" Just as the words trailed out of his mouth Elle felt herself launch forward and she crashed onto the ground, face first. As quick as it happened she was dragged back up to her feet and down a dusty path towards a steel door. She looked to her left and to her right for a familiar face, and then she saw one. It was one of the Saviours, the one with the burn that took up over a third of his face, Dwight.

She was at the Sanctuary, with the Saviours.

She was taken down a set of stone steps and thrown into a small empty cell that had only a thin mattress on the floor, there was no window to the outside world and no sense of freedom – just cold metal bars and darkness.

Elle didn't know how long she'd been in the darkness, it could have been minutes or hours.

"Well well well. Welcome to the fuckin' four seasons" A deep coarse voice echoed around, it was familiar, but she couldn't pin point it. It wasn't until she saw his silhouette that she knew who it was. The shadow with the baseball bat was all too familiar. Negan.

He was always such a mystery to her, he was so confident, authoritative and ruggedly handsome, people were scared of him… Rick was scared of him. He could raise Lucille above his head and everyone would bow to his feet, hoping that they wouldn't be the next victim to the barbed wire bat.

"Why am I here?"

"Thought you might like a fuckin' vacation."

A small smirk came out of her mouth, he was cocky, she liked that.

"Something funny?" He asked, looking over to her as she sat on the thin mattress on the floor of the concrete cell, she stayed silent and simply locked eyes with him.

He knew who she was, well he knew of her, he recognised her from Alexandria, he had stared at her down the sight of one of the guns he took only a couple of hours ago. "I'm not scared of you" She expressed, standing up as she did,

"Honey, I didn't fuckin' expect you to be." He had a one sided grin on his face as he watched her rise up off the ground.

He'd seen her a few times before, she one of them he had kneeling in from of him when he first encountered the Survivors. She was there when he visited Alexandria, she caught his eye almost immediately, she was always the one to point her gun at him first. He could tell by the look in her eye that she either wanted him, or she wanted to pull the trigger.

"What do you want from me? Why am I here?" She was close enough to him that she could see the green in his eyes, there wasn't as much hate as she expected and she had expected to see nothing but malice in the eyes on the man who had killed so many people.

"Well…" He lifted his un-gloved hand up and pushed the hair behind her ear, it was just then that a tingle ran through her body, his touch it was gentle. He paused for a few seconds before speaking again "…take a walk with me." He moved to the side and gestured for her to step out of the small cell she was in.

Elle hesitated and went to take a step but she was stopped as Negan put his arm across length of the door, he lowered his voice until it was almost a whisper,

"Don't fuckin' try to run." He then leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her forehead. She felt his beard graze against her face and instead of flinching she instinctively closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Only for a second, then she opened her eyes as a familiar feeling rushed over her whole body.

What was that? She thought to herself, whatever it was, in that moment she felt like she knew him. She felt like wasn't who she thought he was.

As they stepped out of the door into the bright sun she flinched back as her eyes adjusted to the light, it was hotter outside than she remembered, it was such as difference from the cold and damp cell she was kept in. Negan stepped out behind her, "This way." She followed him taking in her surroundings and watching each step he took – noting how confidently he walked and the looks on people's faces as he passed them. There were guards standing on top of the wall with rifles, there were pikes with walkers' heads on. But when she turned around there were people manning gardens of vegetables and even a few kids running around. It wasn't the 'hell hole' it had been described as. The people did what they had to do to survive, just like her friends and the other groups they'd come across.

"We worked fuckin' hard to build what we have, and we need to fuckin' defend it. If people try and take what we have you damn straight I get pissed the fuck off! Sometimes people die, it's just the fuckin' way of this shit world doll." Just as he turned around there were a few loud bangs followed one of the guards yelling,

"GET DOWN!"

Within an instant, before Elle could react Negan opened the closet door and ushered her inside, "Stay right fuckin' here! I'll come back for you!" Just as the door closed she could here him shouting for everyone to get inside. She knew that it would have been a prime time for her to leave, when every one was occupied, fighting whatever forces were trying to make their way inside of the walls. But an instinct – a gut feeling, something inside stopped her and she stayed there – right where he left her.

Negan lifted the gun out of his holster and aimed it, he took a shot as soon he saw the person come through the gap in the fence, there were a few others that had already been taken down. Negan edged closer to the gap and shouted up to one of the guards,

"How the fuck did this happen?!"

Out the corner of his eye he could see the walkers coming in through the fence, the gun shots were luring them in. He raised his gun and fired three shots in quick succession taking down the undead one at a time. When his clip ran out he looked around and realised he'd left Lucille in the hallway with Elle,

"Shit!" He said to himself, but as he was about to retreat back he heard,

"We got 'em!"

Negan approached his man,

"How the fuck did this happen, where the hell were you?"

"I- I-"

He raised his voice louder, "How the fuck did this happen?"

"Th- there must have been a weak spot in the wall…" his voice trailed off as Negan got closer, "We'll get someone to fix it straight away."

"Good." He didn't say another word before he turned around to walk back to where he left Elle – and Lucille.

When he opened the door he noticed she was there, exactly where he left her and a smile rose over his face and he let out a light laugh, "I really thought you'd've fuckin' ran for it."

She watched as he leant against the wall and let out a deep breath, she picked her moment before she spoke,

"What happened out there?"

"Fuckin' biters." He said as he pushed himself off the wall and turned around so he was in front of her against the wall.

They both stood there in silence for a few minutes, neither of them sure what they were waiting for in the empty badly lit hallway, then without thinking Elle looked up at the man in front of her and she pressed her lips against his. She instantly what she'd done, why the hell did I just do that? As she pulled away she looked up at him, his face was stern with a little shock, but he didn't seem angry.

"I'm-"

Before she could speak another word his lips pressed down against hers. She felt his beard tickling her chin and as he pressed himself closer to her. His kiss was a little forceful and dominating, pretty much what she expected. As his tongue slipped into her mouth she completely let go and threw her arms around his neck pulling him as close as she could. He removed his lips from hers and traced small kisses down her neck and she let out a quiet moan.

"Boss?" Echoed a mans voice over the radio Negan had clipped on to his belt.

"Fuck!" He spoke out before reaching for his belt to reply to the voice on the other end, "What is it Simon?"

"The fence has been repaired, but it looks like they got one off ours…"

He didn't reply to Simon he, just just placed his radio back on his belt and looked up towards Elle with a grin on his face as he moved his tongue over his bottom lip, "Well that was fuckin' unexpected. Don't you run away, I'll be seeing you later, Doll."

When he walked away Elle was lost in her own head. She was suddenly so infatuated by the man that once had her and 10 of her people on their knees in from of him, the man who killed two off her friends, the man who threatened her people and took from her community.

She wasn't sure where to go from there. If she went outside would the other saviours try to take her back to the cell, she couldn't stay in the dark hallway waiting – hoping Negan would come back. After a few minutes debating with herself she made her way towards the exit, just then someone else came through the door,

"You Elle?" She scarred face that came through the door was all too familiar.

With hesitation, Elle nodded her head wondering what was about to happen to her.

"Follow me."

She trailed a few feet behind Dwight, alert and ready to run at a moments notice if he tried anything. They walked through the compound, passing people getting on with their everyday jobs now that the commotion had come to an end. They were planting gardens, tending to little farms and standing guard. It took five minutes or so until they reached the building the were headed for, they entered the double doors and headed up the metal stairs. After 3 flights of stairs he gave her a key and pointed down the hall

"324"

Elle looked back at him as he made his way back down the stairs, she took slow steps along the hallway looking for the door with the number he'd given her, who knows what could be waiting. Then, there it was 324.

Slowly, she put the key in the door and pushed it open, standing to the side, giving it a few moments before she took a step inside.

She closed the door behind her and looked around. It was a bedroom, for her to stay in. It had a good sized bed, a nightstand with a lamp on, a few bottles of water on a shelving unit, a small wardrobe with a few empty hangers and a sink in the corner. She took a few steps and looked out of the window, she had quite a view, she could see the main gate and a lot of the grounds around her.

With the threat minimised she took a deep breath and sat down on the bed and lay back, staring at the ceiling.

Elle wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but when she woke the sun was setting slowly over the horizon. She stood up and looked out of the window, the guards were changing over and the workers were packing up for the night. It was so peaceful at night, it didn't fee like the place she was once so afraid of, it felt normal.

She was only broken out of her daze when there was a sharp knock at the door.

Elle walked towards the door and slowly pulled down the door handle only to come face to face with the Saviour.

Negan.


	4. Stay

_(Note: Thank you all for the views, likes and favourites! I hope you enjoy this one. There is an M rated warning for smut in this chapter.)_

"Well well well, look who we have here." A grin spread across Negan's face and he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. He took a step towards her forcing her to let him into the room – he did so with a confident few steps and light hearted whistle holding his baseball bat by his side. He walked over to the window and looked around at the kingdom he'd built, before turning on his heel to face Elle.

"Follow me." He lifted up Lucille and pointed her to the door, "Let me take you somewhere."

With no seconds spare to hesitate she followed him out, closing the door behind her. She tried to memorise the route they took from the room to their destination, noting the different doors they entered and the staircases they went up and down.

The hallway they entered was lit better, the walls were stone and there was a lot of noise coming from one of the rooms. As they approached it Negan walked straight past the open double doors and started up a staircase. As Elle followed she turned her head and looked into the room, there were a few grey velvet sofas, a chandelier style light hanging from the ceiling, some plants dotted around the room and an impressive looking bar in the corner – but what caught her eye was the women, she noticed 5 of them, all well dressed wearing black dresses and nice earrings, Negan's wives.

Elle stood there, admiring their lifestyle – they had what most people could only dream of now. One of the women noticed her and started to walk towards her, that was until Negan appeared and closed the doors in-front of her. "Now now, that's not why we're here."

They continued on and up the staircase to another set of double doors. Negan opened one of them and gestured for her to enter. When she walked through the door she didn't know what she was expecting. Definitely not what she saw. It was a big room, to the right there was a black leather sofa and two chairs opposite with a glass coffee table in between. The windows were big and they let a lot of light in, there were a few bookshelves and tables around decorated with ornaments and plants. To the left was a large four-poster bed with black and grey bedsheets. In the corner there was a table with a small library of spirits and liquors and next to it was a desk.

Negan entered the room behind her and closed the door behind himself, taking a few steps and setting Lucille down against one of the chairs while she walked around admiring the décor of the Saviours room. Elle turned around only to find herself once again face to face with him.

With his face now inches from hers she took a chance to pick up where they left off in that hallway and pressed her lips against his – just for a moment then she pulled away, awaiting his reaction,

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to to make a move. God knows I'm a fuckin' gentleman but man oh man it turns me on when you do shit like that."

Elle didn't say anything, she just looked him straight in the eye and smiled before moving in on him again, this time she put one of her hands around his neck pulling him closer as they kissed. Negan took his one of his hands and placed it on the back of her head, running his hands through her hair – pulling on it slightly, asserting his dominance. He fought her tongue for control and took a few steps forward pushing her against the wall. Elle broke away from his mouth and she whispered, "So, what do you want Negan? Do you want to fuck me?"

"Oh honey, you have no fuckin' idea…" His voice was low and he spoke in between breaths, "…no fuckin' idea."

Without another word he planted his lips onto hers taking the opportunity to remove her jacket as he did. Elle pushed back towards him, forcing him to step back and move towards the bed. As they moved Negan removed his leather jacket and dropped it on the floor revealing a white t-shirt that showed off muscles and a few tattoos.

Elle pushed him down onto the bed and gave him a smile before she climbed on top off him. Her confidence excited him, he liked a woman with balls of steel – metaphorically speaking – he liked a woman who tried to control him.

He could feel himself getting hard and when she gave a smile he knew that she felt him too. Negan slipped his hand up the back of her t-shirt and lifted it up over her head revealing a black bra with a little lace on the cups. He bit down on his bottom lip and took in every part of her – she was slender with ink covering most of her midsection, she had a scar stretching from just underneath her left rib to her belly button, he noted that it looked recent.

Elle looked down at him and reached behind her back to undo her bra, throwing it on the floor a few seconds later. He sat up and flipped her onto her back moving off her only slightly so he had enough room to undo her pants and remove them. He leaned back over her and traced kissed down her neck and onto her breasts gently biting on her nipple. He listened as she let out soft moan and he continued leading kisses down her stomach before reaching her clit where he used his tongue to softly control her.

Elle lifted her hips when she felt him near her centre, she wanted him – hell, she needed him. She ran her hands through his hair, pulling for him to come back up.

Negan stood up straight to take off his boots while simultaneously working his belt buckle and pants. Once they were off he let himself free and climbed on top of her once again. This time he moved to her ear, biting a little on her earlobe, before whispering "I'm not gonna be gentle, that's just not me. But I am going to fuck your brains out" Elle took a moment to catch her breath, "Just the way I like it."

Negan bit down on his bottom lip with a smile on his face and he ran kisses along her collarbone running his hands all over her naked body, stopping at her hips he lifted them up and slowly entered her one inch at a time. Elle closed her eyes and tipped her head back letting out a long moan followed by a light whisper of his name.

Negan moved slowly at first before picking up the pace, getting a little rougher with every movement, the Saviour grabbed onto her hips pulling her as close to him as he could and buried his face into her neck. She ran her hands through his hair tugging on it harder with every push he made in her. He was moving deeper and faster, her moans were getting louder as he hit her spot. She moved her hands from his hair down to over his back, pressing her fingers into his back harder and harder as she felt herself getting closer and closer to the edge.

He could feel her begin to tighten around him – she was close, he knew it. The Saviour moved his hand around her back and pushed himself into her – harder and faster until he could feel himself about to tip over the edge. Within a minute he felt her tighten her grip on him and her hands drove deeper into his skin, "Oh… Negan…" Her voice trembled as an intense wave of pleasure rushed over her from head to toe.

Hearing her say his name as she came was enough to finish him off, he gave two final pushes before emptying himself inside of her. After a few minutes he removed himself from her then looked her in the eyes as his mouth found it's way back to hers and he kissed her gently.

Elle pulled away from him, trying to catch her breath. She smiled and leant up towards his ear,

"You call that rough?"

Negan looked her in the eye and bit his bottom lip trying to contain the grin that was spreading over his face,

"Damn darlin', you ain't seen nothing yet."

She let out a light giggle as her breathing finally evened out,

"That's good to know."

For a moment they both lay silently next to each other on the bed looking at the ceiling,

"Why didn't you leave me in the cell? Why give me that room?"

"Why so many questions doll?"

"I'm just curious, you don't even know me. I'm one of Rick's people, remember." Elle turned onto her side and held her head up with her hand,

"What do you know about me? I'm just an asshole, right?"

"Well, you're not just an asshole. I can see that, you do what you have to do to survive – we all do. It's not like I've never killed a person, but it's not all that I am and it's not all that you are."

"Hell, that's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Elle sensed the sarcasm in his voice,

"Fuck you." She said with a grin,

"No…" Negan turned onto his side and put his finger onto the tip of her nose, "…I believe that's what I Just did to you"

Elle moved to the edge of the bed and reached for pants. Negan looked over to her, reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Stay.'

"Negan, I'm not interested in becoming one of your wives or another warm body for your bed."

"Honey, I didn't ask you to be." Negan didn't know what was running through his head, he didn't have the time to think about it, he just knew he wanted her to stay.

"Okay." She said, "I'll stay."


	5. Fire Exit

_Hi guys! I'm so sorry it's taken so long to put up a new chapter. I had serious writers block for a while and then life sort of got in the way. It's been crazy busy and work and I had a depression episode to get through. Anyway, the good news is I have a lot of the story mapped out!_

 _Also thanks to Kara315 for the review, it was greatly appreciated!_

* * *

The next morning, when Elle woke up it took her a minute to realise where she was, she looked around, but she was alone. Through the window she could see that the sun was starting to come up. It was still early and she knew she had to get out of there. The night before… she wondered, was it a mistake? It's not like she belonged with them, The Saviours, but she didn't feel like she belonged with the others, The Survivors, not anymore anyway… not since she lost everything.

There was no time to think, Elle got dressed as quickly as she could and grabbed a handgun she found while rummaging through the drawers in the lead Saviours room. It had a full mag and an 'L' carved into the side of the handle.

Elle opened the door slowly, trying to allow it to creak on its hinges and her head peered around the corner, she listened carefully, waiting for any sign of life. It was quiet as she headed down the stairs, maybe a little too quiet. Her breathing was steady and her steps were almost silent as she edged down the hallway with her gun held up in front of her. She remembered the rooms they'd passed the night before, except this time, all of the doors that she could see were closed.

Elle pressed her ear up against the double doors, listening for the voices of Negan's wives, when there was nothing she moved on, one step at a time, one breath at a time the handgun holding steady, ready to fire at a moments notice. Her memory had served her well, and it didn't take long before she was outside in the fresh air.

She sun was blinding at first and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light.

There was a red door close by, it was slightly ajar, not like all of the other ones she'd seen. Elle snuck over, looking over her shoulder with every couple of steps. As she approached she heard a voice, it was getting louder the closer she got. The blonde girl pushed open the door slightly and took a step inside, stepping straight to the side so not to draw attention to herself. She could see a huge crowd of people, all looking up and listening.

Elle took another step forward to widen her view, as she did so she saw him, standing over everyone on a steel balcony leaning forward with both hands on the metal barrier in front.

"We are almost there, we're saving people and it it is working. We help them. They help us. Which means that everyone… and I mean everyone, will eat tonight –" A smile rose across his face as the people before him kneeled in worship, they were either terrified of him, or he was their god. It could have been both. " –no points needed."

Before the crowd started dispersing, Elle left through the door that she'd come in. From there it wasn't hard to find the main gate, but it was guarded, there were a few patrolmen and they were heavily armed… she needed a distraction. She also needed a car, otherwise there was no chance she could make it back to Alexandria before dark, and she didn't had the ammo to fight through the night.

She crouched behind a old rusty car and looked around, looking for anything she could use, that's when she saw it, a gas canister…

Elle aimed her gun and fired one shot at the canister, as soon as the explosion rang through the air she made a run for it. The guards were distracted, but it wouldn't be long before Negan and his army came out guns blazing to see what all of the commotion was about. There wasn't a long window for her to make her escape.

She could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she edged towards the gate, it didn't look too difficult to open.

As soon as she was clear, out of sight and behind a tree the blonde haired woman stopped to catch her breath. Now she had to find a car… there had to be one, she hoped there was at least.

When she reached the next town over Elle took a little bit of time and looked around some of the stores, she needed water at least, something to get her through the journey back. Most of the stores had been emptied and torn apart, there wasn't much of anything left, not a single bit of food. That's when she heard a groan coming from the back room.

Luckily, it only sounded one of them.

She moved slowly around the counter, holding the gun in front of her. It got darker the further back she went, and the sound was echoing off the walls. Elle held her breath and focused so that she could hear everything around her. All of a sudden she felt a pull on her left shoulder and she toppled forward. She managed to turn around so that she was lying face to face on the cold floor with a walker on top of her. It got closer and closer to her neck and her shoulder. She felt like it was all going to be over in a few moments, that she was going to become one of them.

Elle struggled to keep the zombie from biting her, she was using all of her strength to push it even a little bit further away so she could pull her legs up to her chest to launch it away. When she finally managed to do this there was just enough time to move slightly to the left to grab the gun that she'd dropped when she was attacked.

1…2…3 and a bullet shot out of her gun into the head of the walker. When it dropped to the floor Elle let out a sigh, she was safe, at least for a little bit longer, and now it was time to go. Elle headed towards the front door of the store, just as she was about to grab a hold of the handle she saw a group of biters walking past, the gun shot. Elle pressed her back up against the wall and edged slowly away, heading towards the back, there had to be another way out. She climbed over the biter she'd killed and looked around, noticing a door with the words 'Fire Exit' above it. Finally, her ticket out!

Elle kept cautious as she exited the building, immediately eyeing up the car parked across the alley way. She headed over and saw that the keys were still in the ignition.

She turned the engine over a few times before it finally growled to life.

"Thank god!" She spoke to herself, "Get me the fuck out of here."

She drove around and it wasn't long before she found the road she had to be on, this wasn't the first time she'd been stranded outside by herself. She was used to being alone, after everything that had happened up until that point, she welcomed the loneliness, that way no one got hurt.

That's when she saw the sign, it was as bold and welcoming as it did the first time they'd seen it.

'Welcome to the Alexandria Safe Zone.'


End file.
